Announcement of the first public meeting to found the London Mechanics' Institute

This photograph shows an extract from the first London Mechanics' Institute Minute Book, announcing the first public meeting to discuss the foundation of the Institute (which later became Birkbeck College). The meeting was advertised in local newspapers and by placards. It was open to all working men, then known as "mechanics", and to others who were sympathetic to the idea of founding an institution for the education of working men. Reference: BBK 1/1/1, page 12